The 3 Best Projectors Under $500 - Summer 2024 Reviews

The Epson Home Cinema 1080 is slightly more than $500, but when it's on sale, it's easily the best projector under $500 that you can buy. It has surprisingly good image quality for the price, as it projects a very bright 1080p image, so it can easily handle moderately lit rooms. Unfortunately, its contrast is disappointing, so blacks look gray in completely dark rooms. The projector's colors, while not vibrant, are good enough for a pleasant viewing experience, and they're well-calibrated out of the box. The projector doesn't support HDR, but HDR support on projectors tends to be sub-par anyway, especially at this price point.

It's only 5.9 pounds, so it's easy to carry around if you need to, but it's too big and unwieldy for you to throw it into a bag. It has automatic vertical keystone correction, so it adjusts its image automatically if you change its projection angle, and its optical zoom lets you adjust the projected image's size without moving the unit further. The projector has two HDMI 2.0 ports and a USB-B port, allowing you to control the projector through a computer. Unfortunately, the unit doesn't come with a smart OS. However, it does have Wi-Fi 5 and Miracast for screen mirroring, so all it is missing for full streaming functionality is an external streaming dongle, which you can power through the unit's USB-A port.

Hoping to get a cheap projector to use in a bright office? Look no further than the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01. It projects an extremely bright 1280 x 800 resolution image that is perfect for bright offices, and the projector is also no slouch for watching movies. Its bright image makes content pop, and the projector looks great when watching content in a moderately lit room. Plus, its color accuracy is decent out of the box, and is certainly good enough for most people. Unfortunately, the projector's contrast is poor, so this projector is going to look its best when a few lights are on.

Like the Epson Home Cinema 1080, this projector is light enough to be carried around. Unfortunately, unlike the Home Cinema 1080, it lacks any auto keystone correction and autofocusing, so you must manually adjust the image if you wish to fix any geometry issues. It also lacks any smart OS and doesn't even have Wi-Fi, so an external streaming dongle is a must. It has a USB-B port through which you can project some audio and video files directly from a PC, and you can also project a few file formats through the unit's USB-A port. It only has one HDMI port, so you can't connect multiple HDMI devices to the projector unless you're using a dock. Ultimately, the EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is one of the best productivity projectors and is extremely good value at its price point.

If you're looking for a cheap projector that you can easily carry around, check out the XGIMI MoGo 2. The MoGo 2 is a very small projector and weighs only 2.4 pounds, so you can easily throw it into a backpack. While it doesn't have an internal battery like some other more expensive portable projectors have, it does support external charging via power banks through its USB-C port. It has many image correction features, like full auto keystone, autofocus, intelligent screen alignment, and obstacle avoidance. To round up the package, it has the Android TV 11 smart interface, Chromecast and AirScreen support, and Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities.

Unfortunately, the projector is very dim. You need to turn off all the lights to get a pleasant image, and even then, it's not exactly the most vibrant viewing experience possible. Its contrast is mediocre but good enough to provide a passable dark room viewing experience. It also has a wide color gamut and HDR support but isn't bright enough to take advantage of them. Ultimately, if portability is what you're looking for and you don't care so much about image quality, then the MoGo 2 is the best option at this price point.